COLLEGE ASSISTANCE MIGRANT PROGRAM (CAMP)/CAMP SCHOLARS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM ASSESSMENT REPORT

Transcription

1 Dr. Viridiana Diaz River Front Center 1 viridiaz@csus.edu (916) COLLEGE ASSISTANCE MIGRANT PROGRAM (CAMP)/CAMP SCHOLARS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM ASSESSMENT REPORT MISSION The primary purpose of the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) is to provide academic, support services and financial assistance to address the special needs of migrant and seasonal farmworker students and to enhance the opportunity of these students for success at the postsecondary education level. The mission of the CAMP Scholars Internship Program is to promote and foster the development of CAMP students through training, professional development, and relationship building. The CAMP Scholars Internship Program places talented CAMP students who have shown great leadership potential in government, business and nonprofit organizations to prepare them for positions of leadership. GOALS Help develop the professional skills of the CAMP Scholars Internship Program participants Provide a structure for the CAMP Scholars Internship Program participants to gain greater selfconfidence as student leaders Promote an environment that encourages ongoing leadership growth following the end of the program DEPARTMENTAL DASHBOARD Number of Scholars for the Fall 2013 term=10; number of Scholars for the Spring 2014 term=9 All Scholars were at least sophomore status; 55% worked fewer than 10 hours outside the program; and Scholars majors spanned across five of the seven colleges of the Sacramento State campus (Arts and Letters, Education, Engineering and Computer Science, Health and Human Services, and Social Science and Interdisciplinary Studies) Students attended monthly training seminars to expand their knowledge, explore opportunities, and share internship experiences Internship placements for the year included: Office of Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, Office of Assemblymember Ed Chau, Consulate General of Mexico in Sacramento, Opening Doors, Inc., U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer s Sacramento Office, Office of Assemblymember Shirley Weber, Mutual Housing California, Office of Assemblymember Curt Hagman, and Associated Students, Incorporated at Sacramento State POINTS OF PRIDE The Program established new placements at the Office of Assemblymember Ed Chau and the nonprofit organization Opening Doors, Inc. 1

2 Scholars took part in eight seminars throughout the academic year. Topics included education, healthcare, immigration, outsourcing, climate change, and professional development Each Scholar accumulated an average of 170 hours within their respective internship sites for the fall semester and an average of 156 hours during the spring semester. Scholars received 1 unit of academic credit each semester for program coursework. ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES Learning Outcome 1 Develop the professional skills of CAMP Scholars Internship Program participants, including: networking, interview skills, communication, presentation, and analytical skills. Methods and Measures The assessment was administered to CAMP Scholars during the last seminar of the academic year. The assessment was self-reported and consisted of one question subdivided into five categories. These categories were developed utilizing a Likert-Scale model to establish the level of improvement. These ranged from 1 (no improvement) to 5 (highly improved). Data Collection Dates: Friday, May 16, 2014 Distribution Channels: The survey was distributed as a hard copy, filled out by each student, and collected. Survey Type: Self-Reported, Likert-Scale, one question with five categories. Population: Nine CAMP Scholars Program student participants. Findings Students in the CAMP Scholars Internship Program self-reported improvement across all categories, with the highest average improvements in the categories of networking skills (4.7) and communication skills (4.6). The category with the lowest average improvement was interview skills (3.7). 2

3 Conclusions/Status The data shows that student participants self-reported improvement across all categories associated with professional skills. While improvement was reported across all categories, the lowest level of improvement was demonstrated within the interview skills category. This indicates that students took less away from this particular category than any other category. Therefore, steps will be taken to provide more opportunities for scholars to improve in this area. A potential opportunity is to invite guest speakers from inside and outside the campus communities to speak with CAMP Scholars, and/or have participants attend workshops that teach interview techniques, appropriate interview attire, resume development, and other professional etiquette. Learning Outcome 2 Provide a structure for CAMP Scholars Internship Program participants to gain greater selfconfidence as student leaders. A student leader exhibits career path clarity, civil and leadership engagement, and is knowledgeable about current issues. Scholars will self-report gains in the aforementioned categories. Methods and Measures The assessment was administered to the Scholars during the last seminar of the academic year. The assessment was self-reported and consisted of one question subdivided into four statements. These statements were developed within a Likert-Scale model to establish agreement in personal confidence levels associated with various statements. Additionally, the assessment question is a pre/post comparison question that captures the growth between the beginning and close of the internship program. These statements ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly disagree). Data Collection Dates: Friday, May 16, 2014 Distribution Channels: The survey was distributed as a hard copy, filled out by each student, and collected. Survey Type: Self-reported, Likert-Scale, one question with four statements. Population: Nine CAMP Scholars Internship Program student participants. 3

4 Findings The data shows that Scholars self-reported growth across the various self-confidence categories. On average, student participants expressed they agree (a score of 4) with various statements presented on leadership. Within these categories, civil and leadership engagement provided the greatest self-reported gain with an average score of 4.5. Seeing oneself in a position of leadership in the future provided the least gain, with an average score of 4.2. Conclusions/Status As indicated by the data, there was self-reported growth and agreement for all statements. Across all categories, students reported that they agree with the statements provided. The statement I can now see myself in a position of leadership in the future received the lowest average score of 4.2, while the statement I now have the confidence to engage in civil and leadership activities received the greatest average score of 4.5. This indicates that there is space to provide opportunities to participating students to advance their perceptions of themselves as future leaders. While it is important for future leaders to endeavor in civil and leadership activities, be knowledgeable of current issues, and have the certainty of what major and career one wants to pursue, it is critical to have the ability to envision one s self as a future leader. This vision establishes a foundation for future skill set development and professional/personal viable opportunities for success. Program Objective 1 The CAMP Scholars Internship Program will promote an environment that encourages on-going leadership growth following the end of the program. Participants will show interest in graduate school as well as involvement in on- and off-campus clubs and organizations. Methods and Measures The assessment was administered to the Scholars during the last seminar of the academic year. The assessment was self-reported and consisted of two open-ended questions that provided students the opportunity to reflect on their internship experience and new interests resultant of their internship program participation. 4

5 Data Collection Dates: Friday, May 16, 2014 Distribution Channels: The survey was distributed as a hard copy, filled out by each student, and collected. Survey Type: Self-reported, two open-ended questions. Population: Nine CAMP Scholars Internship Program student participants. Findings The data was developed from open-ended questions answered by the CAMP Scholars Internship Program participants. The following table outlines the most common themes of the open-ended questions. Assessment Question 1. What topics would you be interested in learning more about? Most Frequent Reponses Graduate School Community Engagement Engagement in the Political Process Prevalent throughout the responses was an interest in gaining greater knowledge on community engagement, graduate school, and engagement in the political process. In speaking to community engagement (22% of responses), one Scholar stated that he would like to learn more about helping out the community. Another Scholar encompassed both academia (55% of responses) and the political process (22% of responses) when stating that she would like to learn more about pursuing race/ethnicity in graduate school and learn more about the democratic process. While community engagement and engagement within the political process do arise as common themes, interest in learning more about graduate school has the greatest level of occurrence. 2. List the three most beneficial components of the internship program. Professional Development Community and Political Involvement Research Opportunities and Academia Common themes that arose revolved around professional development, becoming involved within the civil and political arena, and having the opportunity to engage in research and academia. Professional development was the most cited component (64% of responses), followed by community and political involvement (22% of responses), and opportunities for research (14% of responses). Students desire professional development experiences with phone etiquette, customer service, and enhancing communication skills. Referring to community and political involvement, Scholars demonstrated interest in engaging offices [at the State Capitol] to learn more about the political process, engaging more with political news to be more knowledgeable of what s going on [in the community], and wanting to help people. Finally, Scholars 5

6 displayed interest in the seminar topics [such as education and immigration] and the program s research components. Conclusions/Status Data from the open-ended questions suggest that CAMP Scholars Internship Program participants want to learn more about topics explored in the program such as pursuing graduate school and becoming active participants within their communities and within the political process. This wide range of interests indicates that the CAMP Program should continue activities that strengthen and encourage these attributes. Data indicates the program can provides a foundation for students to become active members within and outside of the campus community. PLANS FOR THE COMING YEAR Continue to strengthen existing partnerships and develop new partnerships with a variety of local, state, and federal agencies to have a wide array of placement opportunities for future CAMP Scholars Internship Program participants Continue to widen the pool of potential individual and organizational contacts to be invited as guests speakers during the monthly seminars Continue to assess the learning experiences of participating students during the monthly seminars Develop new opportunities for program participants to gain greater professional and leadership development ATTACHMENTS Department Name Attachment A: CAMP Scholars Internship Program Survey Department Name Attachment B: CAMP Scholars Internship Program Brochure 6